Okay I wanted to emulate EdWorts recipe as close as possible however I cannot get any montrachet wine yeast. The only brand my LHBS carries is Lalvin: Bourgovin, ICV D-47, 71B-1122, K1V-1116, and EC-1118 any idea which of these would be closest to what is called for in EdWort's recipe??

Okay I wanted to emulate EdWorts recipe as close as possible however I cannot get any montrachet wine yeast. The only brand my LHBS carries is Lalvin: Bourgovin, ICV D-47, 71B-1122, K1V-1116, and EC-1118 any idea which of these would be closest to what is called for in EdWort's recipe??

I was getting ready to make a batch and sampled a few of the over 2000 posts and jotted down the yeasts I saw used. Of course Moncharet was on the list plus Cote de Blanc and Lalvin D47. My LBHS only carried Lalvin so I took D47 and pitched that. Later I read more and saw Lalvin 1118 more often.
Mine is at 4 1/2 weeks but still going at 8 per minute so took a SG reading - 1.006. It had a sweet mild taste - very faint apple. At our local brew club last night a couple mead makers said D47 should finish with a sweet taste.
I wonder if mine is fermented out and could be bottled even though it's still bubbling. It's really clear - can see the yeast cake on the bottom from 5 ft away

I tried using a hefe yeast (wyeast 3068). It fermented out to around 0.998, which is actually lower than my montrachet apfelwein (4th week in primary, and at ~1.002). It tastes about the same as montrachet, with maybe a hint of a yeasty flavor. One caveat is that I used table sugar instead of dextrose (didn't want to, but I didn't really have a choice), so that may explain why it didn't come out as good as some people described. One poster said they got a 'sweet jolly rancher flavor' from a hefe yeast, but my guess would be that it was bottled too soon. If your apfelwein is sweet at bottling time, I'd be seriously worried about bottle bombs.

I wonder if mine is fermented out and could be bottled even though it's still bubbling. It's really clear - can see the yeast cake on the bottom from 5 ft away

Keep taking sg levels every couple days for a week or so. If it stays the same for a week or more, you are probably safe. There are several other possibilities for gas release in the carboy, so sg measurements are much more accurate than airlock activity.

I used Montrachet because Ed Wort used it in his recipe and he is the Apfelwein god! I guess it finishes extremey dry though, so I added a half pound of lactose...Some people used up to a poud of Lactose, but I know from my sweet stout recipe, how sweet a pound of lactose can be.

I think the ec1118 is an acceptable alternative...it's a champagne yeast and finishes dry.

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